Stopper polishing machine



June 19, 1934. R BECK STOPPER POLISHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 8, 1935 MP cit 3maentor attorneys June 19, 1934. N R BECK STOPPER POLISHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed Feb. 8, 1933 Ill] :Ulllll ZSnnemor Gttornegs Patented June 19, 1934 STOPPER POLISHING MACHINE Norman R. Beck, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Carr-Lowrey Glass Application February 8,

8 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to machines for polishing glass stoppers-such as used in bottles andit is designed primarily for'polishing the'edges of the heads of stoppers. Heretofore the polishingof fail the edges of stopper heads has been ,a costly item in the production of finished glass stoppers and the present invention hasfor an object the provision of means whereby it is possible for one person to handle a much greater number .of stoppers in-a given time than has heretoforebeen si z it is another object of the invention to provide asimple andeflicient-mechanism whereby more than one stopper can be polished at one time, suitable equalizing means being employed whereby all of thestoppers will be maintained constantly in proper working relation with their polishing wheels during the polishing operation.

,A still further object is to'shift the stoppers automatically relative to thepolishing surfaces so as to distribute wear oven said surfaces and preventthe formation of undesirable channels resulting from abrasion.

- With the foregoing and other objects view which will appearas the description proceeds, the inventioneonsists of certain novel details of construction and coirfinations of partshereinafter moreful y described and pointed out-in the claims, it beingunderstood that changes maybe made in the-construction and arrangement'of parts-without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form ,of theinvention has been shown. i357 saiddrawings:

. Figurel is a front elevation of the apparatus,

portions being broken away. I V

Figure 2 is an elevation showing one side of the structureillustrated in Figure 1, a portion {46 being broken away.

- Figure 3 is. anelevation showing the opposite side ofthe structure. 1

Figure .4 is an'enlarged section through a portion of one of the-rockerheads and its spindle, a .46: stopper beingshown inengagement therewith. Referring to the figures by'charactersof refer-- ence 1uand=2 designate side frame members each of which is provided with an adjustable bearing block 3 engaging thetapered ends 4 of a shaft 5. {5Q' Qnthe shaft are arranged polishing wheels 6 disposed inxpairs, The shaft also carries a pulley '7 adapted .to receive motion from any suitab source through ,a belt-8 or the like.

The frame member 1 has an upwardly pro- 55j jecting'; extension .9- joined by; angle strip 510 00., Baltimore, Md.

1933, Serial No. 655,841

to a similar extension 11 projecting upwardly from the frame member 2. A head 12 issecured to the extension 9,.and provides a bearing 13 for a shaft 14 to which is secured a worm gear 15 and a toothed gear 16. Another bearing 17 is provided for the shaft 18 of a toothed gear '19 and a cam 20.

The worm gear 15 engages a worm 21 in which is feathered a shaft 22 provided with a collar 23 having an annular groove 24. A lever 25 is fulcrumed at 26 on a bracket 2'7 secured to extension 9 and this lever has a looped portion 28 extending loosely around the collar 23 and provided-with pins 29 working in the groove 24. The upper end of lever 25 is yieldinglyre'strainedby a spring 30 attached to a bracket 31 and extending from the lever is an arm 32 having a roller 33 engaging the. edge of the cam 20. r

One end of shaft 22 telescopes into asleeve 34 carried by an extension'35 of-shaft 22. "The shaft 22 is slidable within sleeve 34- but rotates therewith, any suitable driving connection being provided such as a slot 36 and a pin 37. v

The shaft extension is journalled in a housing 38 supported by a bracket 39 on extension 11. A .worm gear 40is secured to the shaft ex-' tension and rotates within the housing. It receives motion througha worm 41 from the shaft 42 -of a motor 43. Thus the worm and'its gear constitute .aspeed reduction mechanism for submitting motion from the motor to shaft 3522. Mounted to swingon the shaft 22 is'the forked end 44 of an arm 45, this arm being held against sliding movement relative to shaft 22 by any suitable means, such as collars 46. A-pulley '47 is secured to shaft 22 'withinthe fork 44 and adjacent to the fork is a bracket 48 carrying an idlerpulley '49. The idler pulley is adjustably mounted as shown in-Figure3so as to constitute a belt tightener, the bearing 50 of the pulley being adjustably clamped in slots 51 formed in the bracket 48. 4

The bracket 48 is extended backwardly from arm 45 and has a latch lever52 pivotally'mounted" thereon at 53. The upper end of this latch lever has a notch 54 normally. positioned above the angle strip 10 and'a spring 55 serves to pull the latch lever against the strip 10.

Arm 45 has a rocker head 56 swivelled therein at its lower end and this rocker head is formed with an opening 5'7 in which is mounted a pulley 58. The pulley issecured to a spindle 59 extending transversely of and journalled within the rocker head. The spindle is tubular as'shown for example in Figure 4 and the ends of'the bore in the spindle are slightly flared as indicated at 60 so as to be snugly engaged by the tapered portion T of a strip S.

Handle 61 extends from the rocker head and fulcrumed adjacent thereto is a hand lever 62 connected by a rod 63 to the lower end of latch lever 52.

A drive belt 64 is mounted on the pulleys 4'7, 49 and 58 and serves to transmit motion from shaft 22 to the spindle 59.

It is to be understood that one arm 45 and its cooperating parts is provided for each pair of polishing wheels 6. The arm is mounted to swing in a plane parallel with and extending between the planes of rotation of the wheels 6 with which it is associated. The wheels 6 of each pair are spaced apart such a distance that stoppers S carried by the spindle 59 associated therewith will rest upon the peripheries of said wheels. Where two pairs of wheels 6 are used two arms 45 are employed and, obviously, the number of stoppers being polished during one operation will equal the number of polishing wheels.

In practice the arms 45 are swung upwardly by means of handles 61 so that the notched ends of the latch levers 52 will snap into engagement with the strip 10, thereby holding the rocker heads 56 in elevated positions. With the parts thus arranged stoppers S to be polished are inishing wheels.

serted in the two ends of each spindle 59. The polishing wheels are rotated by suitable mechanism provided for that purpose. The motor 43 and the mechanism controlled thereby will drive shaft 22 which, in turn, will cause the spindles to be rotated simultaneously. The shaft will also transmit motion through worm 21 and gears 15, 16 and 19 to cam 20. This cam will cooperate with roller 23 to slowly reciprocate the revolving shaft 22. Consequently the arms 45 will be reciprocated within a limited area while the spindles 59 are being rotated.

The parts are so proportioned that the path of movement of the reciprocating spindles will be shorter than the width of the polishing faces of wheels 6.

After the spindles have received the stoppers to be polished each of the arms 45 is swung downwardly to bring the edges E of the stopper heads H into contact with the wheels 6. The rocker heads will equalize the pressure of the stoppers upon the wheels 6 and as the wheels are rotating at one speed while the stoppers are rotating at another speed the edges of the stop-- pers will be quickly polished. Wear upon the wheels will be distributed over the peripheries thereof by the reciprocation of the stoppers during the polishing operation. As the stoppers of one pair become polished the rocker head is raised and held while the finished stoppers are removed and others substituted. Latch lever 52 is then released from strip 10 and the rocker head lowered to bring the newly supplied stoppers into engagement with their pol- This operation is repeated with the next arm 45 and by properly timing the mechanism the time required to remove a pair of finished stoppers, position additional stoppers in the spindle, and apply them to their polishing wheels, will substantially equal the time required to properly polish those stoppers being acted upon by the other pair of wheels. Thus an operation which is practically continuous can be carried on by one operator and the polishing of the stoppers can be eflected at a cost much less than that which has been possible heretofore.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for polishing stoppers including a pair of polishing wheels, a shaft mounted for rotation and reciprocation, an arm mounted to reciprocate therewith and swing thereon toward or from the wheels, a rocker head carried by the arm, a rotatable means in the rocker head for holding separate stoppers in contact with the respective wheels, and means for transmitting rotary motion from the shaft to the stopper holding means, said rocker head being mounted for oscillating about an axis extending toward the shaft thereby to maintain the stoppers against the peripheries of their wheels irrespective of differences in the diameters of the wheels.

2. A machine for polishing stoppers including a pair of polishing wheels, an arm mounted for swinging movement toward or from the wheels, rotatable means rockably connected to the arm for holding separate stoppers in contact with the peripheries of the respective wheels, and for equalizing pressure between the held stoppers and their polishing wheels without regard to differences or variations in the diameters and contours of the wheels, and means for rotating the stopper holding means.

3. A machine for polishing stoppers including a pair of polishing wheels, an arm mounted for swinging movement toward or from the wheels, rotatable means rockably connected to the arm for holding separate stoppers in contact with the respective wheels, and for equalizing pressure between the held stoppers and their polishing wheels irrespective of the relative diameters and contours of the wheels, means for rotating the stopper holding means while the stoppers are in engagement with the peripheries of the wheels, and means for reciprocating the stopper holding means transversely of the wheel peripheries during the rotation of said holding means;

4. A machine for polishing stoppers including rotatable polishing wheels, an arm mountedfor swinging movement, rockable means carried by and movable about the longitudinal axis of the arm I0r holding separate stoppers in contact with the respective wheels and equalizing pressure between the stoppers and the peripheries of their wheels irrespective of the relative diameters and contours of the wheels, means for rotating the stopper holding means, means for reciprocating the stopper holding means during the rotation thereof, and means for supporting the stopper holding means and the engaged stoppers out of operative relation with the wheels prior to and during the reciprocation of said means.

5. A machine for polishing stoppers including polishing wheels mounted for rotation, a shaft mounted for rotation and reciprocation, means operated by the rotation of said shaft for reciprocating it, an arm mounted to swing upon the shaft and to reciprocate therewith, a rocker head carried by the arm and movable about an axis extending toward the shaft, a spindle extending across the peripheries of the wheels and supported by and movable with rocker head and. having stop-per receiving ends for supporting stoppers in contact with the peripheries of the respective wheels irrespective of the relative diameters and contours of the wheels, and means for transmitting rotary motion from the shaft to the spindle. 7

6. A'machine for polishing stoppers including 150 polishing wheels mounted for rotation, a shaft mounted for rotation and reciprocation, means operated by the rotation of said shaft for reciprocating it, an arm mounted to swing upon the shaft and to recipijbcate therewith, a rocker head carried by the arm and movable about an axis extending toward 'the shaft, 9. spindle extending transversely of the wheel peripheries and supported by and "movable with the rocker head and having stopper receiving ends for supporting stoppers in contact with the peripheries of the respective wheels irrespective of the relative diameters and contours of the wheels, means for transmitting rotary motion from the shaft to the spindle, a stationary member parallel with the shaft, a latch movable with the arm for sliding engagement with said member, said latch and member cooperating to hold the arm elevated during the reciprocation thereof, and means on the arm for disengaging the latch from said member.

'7. A machine for polishing stoppers including rotatable polishing wheels, means rockable about an axis extending toward the axis of the wheels and bridging the 'space between the wheels for holding stoppers in contact with the peripheries of the wheels and equally distributing pressure thereto irrespective of the relative diameters and contours of the wheels, and separate means for rotating and reciprocating the stopper holding means while the stoppersare in engagement with the wheels.

NORMAN R. BECK. 

